The Impact of Food Properties on Jaw Movements in Rodents: A Comparison Between Myomorphous and Hystricomorphous Species
Abstract
Rodents can be divided into three major morphological groups (myomorphy, sciuromorphy, and hystricomorphy; additionally, protogomorphy can be found in only one recent species) based on the configuration of the skull and jaw muscles. These three morphotypes have been suggested to be adapted to different food types and allow for different chewing movements. Previous authors have postulated that the masticatory grinding movements should occur mostly in the antero-posterior direction, but other studies have suggested that different degrees of antero-posterior movement may occur across the rodent tree of life and in response to differences in food properties. Here, we use 3D reconstructed movements from X-Ray videos to show that both morphology and food type influence masticatory movements in two myomorphous and two hystricomorphous rodents. Yet, while hystricomorphs do not change the frequency of their masticatory movements in response to different food items, myomorphs do so. Additionally, myomorphs and hystricomorphs that exhibit propalinal chewing movements tend to possess a relatively lower mandibular condyle. Overall, our data suggest that molar morphology, in connection with dietary habits, directly influences masticatory movements. These results show that relatively small differences in a relatively conserved bauplan can have a large impact on jaw movements.
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BibTeX
@article{sommerfeld2026impact,
title = {{The Impact of Food Properties on Jaw Movements in Rodents: A Comparison Between Myomorphous and Hystricomorphous Species}},
author = {Simon Sommerfeld and Lea Da Cunha and Lionel Hautier and Anthony Herrel},
journal = {Journal of Morphology},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1002/jmor.70153},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05763662v1},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Impact of Food Properties on Jaw Movements in Rodents: A Comparison Between Myomorphous and Hystricomorphous Species
AU - Simon Sommerfeld
AU - Lea Da Cunha
AU - Lionel Hautier
AU - Anthony Herrel
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/17
JO - Journal of Morphology
DO - 10.1002/jmor.70153
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05763662v1
AB - Rodents can be divided into three major morphological groups (myomorphy, sciuromorphy, and hystricomorphy; additionally, protogomorphy can be found in only one recent species) based on the configuration of the skull and jaw muscles. These three morphotypes have been suggested to be adapted to different food types and allow for different chewing movements. Previous authors have postulated that the masticatory grinding movements should occur mostly in the antero-posterior direction, but other studies have suggested that different degrees of antero-posterior movement may occur across the rodent tree of life and in response to differences in food properties. Here, we use 3D reconstructed movements from X-Ray videos to show that both morphology and food type influence masticatory movements in two myomorphous and two hystricomorphous rodents. Yet, while hystricomorphs do not change the frequency of their masticatory movements in response to different food items, myomorphs do so. Additionally, myomorphs and hystricomorphs that exhibit propalinal chewing movements tend to possess a relatively lower mandibular condyle. Overall, our data suggest that molar morphology, in connection with dietary habits, directly influences masticatory movements. These results show that relatively small differences in a relatively conserved bauplan can have a large impact on jaw movements.
SN - 0362-2525
SN - 1097-4687
ER -